People keep posting, Thailand expensive, but I'm not seeing it!

[falangUK]

43 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I don't think a cookie is going to work without sugar, lots of it.  Why our go to 'treat' is Cheesecake.  Have excellent recipe for that, and I cut the sugar down to 100-125gr (for 680gr of CC), and it's still damn tasty.

 

Adjusted recipe for 300gr of CC.  

 

Of course if counting calories, or avoiding saturated fats, you may want to give it a pass.

 

 

 

I make it quite often, hence I buy Cream Cheese @ Makro in 2kg box size

 

 

Health wise, if eating the Cheesecake, we get 12 nice slices, so divide these #s by 12, for 1 slice of carbs / fats / protein #s

 

385 calories per slice

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing — that’s genuinely helpful. Really appreciate the adjusted recipe and the breakdown, it’s all very clear and useful. Very kind of you to take the time, much appreciated!

[baansgr]

Prices are coming down actually, wifi down, PEA has just reduced the rates and most rents are cheaper than a few years ago...only if you live like a numbnuts tourist eating steaks, pizzas and kebabs at restos will you find any inflation in Thailand

[falangUK]

16 minutes ago, JakeC said:

 

If you are looking in shops, then Homepro will have the SKG KG-631 for around 2k. http://www.skgelectrics.com/goods.php?id=727 

Cheaper via Lazada.

or

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/lahome-i3908195830-s17678671922.html with a two year warranty.

 

or

 

https://shopee.co.th/product/274852437/6447465119

 

Cheaper here: https://shopee.co.th/product/445990429/17937240833

 

Some options at differing price points; where you can compare the specification.

Thanks a lot for that — really helpful to see all the options side by side. Appreciate you taking the time to pull those together, especially with the links and price points. Much appreciated

[falangUK]

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Just went out to my local veg store for pineapple, tomatoes and some peppers. 30bht for the lot.

Doesn't feel expensive to me!

 

Very nice  where is that in Chiang Mai? I’ve never found anything that cheap, not even at Kad Muang Mai.

Coconuts you grate yourself have shot up  used to be 30 baht, now 50 or more. A lot of the usual coconut scraper shops don’t even bother selling freshly scraped coconut anymore.
 

TGF mentioned somtam prices going up too. And you’re absolutely right about the peppers  the ones grown in poly tunnels by the hill tribes go off fast. Years ago I used to go hiking with a group and farmers would offer free peppers and veg. I was amazed  people would just descend and clear it all out in minutes.

Can’t say much about the taste or freshness  I didn’t usually take any. I get mine from Rimping or Tops most of the time.

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

I am in Australia and yes most basics are more expensive here - prices have gone up a lot in the last year or two - but many things: wine, beer, chocolate, many nuts, many cereals, many dairy products are more expensive in Thailand. Those things are a significant part of what I buy so Thailand doesn't come out that far on top.  

The big ticket items - rent, car registration, car insurance, property insurance, car servicing, internet etc. in Australia are all multiples of  what they cost in Thailand.

 

It's quite simple - when I am in Australia my income is less than what I have to spend. In Thailand, I am saving money.

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, JAS21 said:

Do I understand that you are saying in Thailand for basically 150 rounds the equivalent cost in £UK  is about £66 ie B2900. That includes green fee, caddie and buggy. Or just green fee …

 

£1000 for 150 rounds is about about £6.60 …when I left the UK in 2007 £30 was about the going rate.

 

But I do agree golf here costs more …when my wife and I left the UK we paid maybe £2000 a year for joint membership.  Here we have membership  but caddie cost is B350 +B400 tip …. So 150 rounds a year would be 225000 or £UK5000. 
 

In fact it costs us miles more because we go away and play every couple of weeks so maybe B1500 all in …or B1900 each ……our golfing costs are huge!!!!!

UK clubs vary of course for membership but my last club was £1k for unlimited golf. Here in Thailand it doesn't work the same, often if people join a club they have to pay additional green fees each time. If just pay and play which most people do around Pattaya, it's green fee+ compulsory caddy fee +compulsory caddy tip + cart, yes there are deals but generally it's very expensive if you annualised it, also the cost encourages you not to play too much, in UK you could play every day, same cost.

 

what's the annual cost for you and your wife? most people don't realise just how expensive it is. 

 

In Pattaya golf bars you also pay transport 300+ and bet another 300+ each time 

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Pizza for breakfast, cost almost nothing ......

 

And tastes even less.

[1FinickyOne]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It's quite simple - when I am in Australia my income is less than what I have to spend.

How could that be? If you are in the top .00009 % of smart people, how could you have not known about compound interest at an early age? 

[Fat is a type of crazy]

How much are wine coolers now. I seem to recall you used to buy them for 27 baht.

[gk10012001]

The only thing that is more expensive as far as I have ever experienced going back to 2004 which was the first of my 15 trips was eating all western food.  Sure there is a Tony Roma's in Bangkok.  A hard rock cafe in Pattaya and things like that.  But lots of Thai rice and noodle and soup dishes and some occasional German food or a Full English Breakfast now and then along with a Sunday Carvery now and then as well as the specials that Robins Nest used to have such as the Lasagna, suited me just fine,  A nice sized 40  or even 50 sq meter condo rents for about 1/2 of a similar thing here in many parts of the USA.  My health insurance is now on Medicare so I am paying that regardless of me spending long term in Thailand so that doesn't count in my cost equation.  Costs for touristy things like visiting parks, gardens, zoos, etc.  are comparable or cheaper in Thailand than in the USA.  Certainly are cheaper when you look at what they now charge to go to big corporate places such as Disney world, Universal world, tec.  The Dallas Texas zoo was very reasonably priced as is the fantastic San Diego Zoo.  Nong Nooch Garden just outside of Pattya is reasonable.  I miss the old Dusit zoo in bangkok.  That was like an oasis.  

 

Yes foreign wine or other hard liquor can add up but I rarely drink that.  So if I were to pull up stakes and totally move to Thailand, it would cost me about 25% less of what very similar living and eating here in the USA,  and would go down from there if I was really penny pinching.  Basically I plan for $3,000 a month, budget for $4,000 a month, can afford $5,000 a month.  

[ronnie50]

11 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Pineapple is a local fruit. So makes sense that it would be cheap.

 

Blueberries seem exorbitant to me.

Olives are expensive.

Cheese and red meat are expensive. Cheese actually, I'm not sure. I need to do a comparison. 

 

Thailand food prices are only cheap if you stick with only local foods. 

 

For the most part though, it's way cheaper. A breakfast place back home might be 500 baht compared to 120 baht in Thailand. 

 

I stick with Big-C which seems ok and every other week has a 10% member's discount. They had blueberries on sale earlier this week for 79 baht (half the usual price of other places). We bought 3 pannets. The main thing is to avoid the markets that cater to foreigners (as much as possible), because the prices have always been much higher - particularly the best known one. Their main competitor seems stuck in the 1990s, and never changes/adds anything. Overall, there is less competition in the bigger supermarkets these days. That's too bad. Reflection of how so few seem to own everything and control prices. For those in the Bangkok area, if you ever get a chance, take a trip up to Rangsit and Dalat Thai for some really fresh produce and good prices. Place is massive. Go in the morning. Over 20+ years I've seen HP sauce go from 99 baht to 200+ baht and coconuts in the market go from 10 baht to 50 baht and Walls single serving ice cream at 7-ELEVEN now twice the price. While that's over a long period, the prices have escalated most in the last 5 years or so.

[NorthernRyland]

11 hours ago, Hummin said:

Thailand is on pair with Norway if not more expensive when it comes to certain imported food and stuff, but I have lived more back in Norway the last 3 years than Thailand, and it really escalating faster year for year.

 

Also spent time in Spain, and the expats there who moved down from Northern Europe, experience their pensions being stretched, and many are now spending their savings, or forced to relocate to cheaper living standards. 

 

Thailand is still the cheapest and best expat destination if you include their infrastructure and safety. 

 

There is some really overpriced food in Thailand once you step outside the bounds of Thai food. Once you factor in quality it can really get outrageous. People may be noticing this more because there's more options to spend money now. If you go back 20 years Thai food may have been the only option you had so you didn't have the option to spend big money.

 

Basically it's cheap if you want to live poor. 😂 In your home country this may not even be an option so there's that.

[NorthernRyland]

5 hours ago, falangUK said:

Very nice  where is that in Chiang Mai? I’ve never found anything that cheap, not even at Kad Muang Mai.

Coconuts you grate yourself have shot up  used to be 30 baht, now 50 or more. A lot of the usual coconut scraper shops don’t even bother selling freshly scraped coconut anymore.

 

Just for fun I'll guess because I think he's said he lives north of Mae Jo, maybe Chedi Mae Krua Market? @BritManToo how did I do?

[spidermike007]

8 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

Try the UK. Energy bills are the highest anywhere in the world

I heard Germany was even higher due to the unnecessary dismantling of their highly successful nuclear energy program. 

[connda]

10 hours ago, Hummin said:

The pepper is expensive with us, but pineapple and tomatoes is give away prices now. mangos impossible to sell for decent prices.

I get 1 kg of bell pepper when they are in season for 10 THB.

[Lacessit]

6 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I don't think a cookie is going to work without sugar, lots of it.  Why our go to 'treat' is Cheesecake.  Have excellent recipe for that, and I cut the sugar down to 100-125gr (for 680gr of CC), and it's still damn tasty.

 

Adjusted recipe for 300gr of CC.  

 

Of course if counting calories, or avoiding saturated fats, you may want to give it a pass.

 

 

 

I make it quite often, hence I buy Cream Cheese @ Makro in 2kg box size

 

 

Health wise, if eating the Cheesecake, we get 12 nice slices, so divide these #s by 12, for 1 slice of carbs / fats / protein #s

 

385 calories per slice

 

 

I am wondering if anyone has tried substituting stevia for sugar. Zero calories, 200 times sweeter than sugar. Stable up to 200 C.

[shdmn]

17 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Just went out to my local veg store for pineapple, tomatoes and some peppers. 30bht for the lot.

Doesn't feel expensive to me!

 

That probably would have cost around 100b not that long ago.  It's all relative.

[GinBoy2]

5 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

The only thing that is more expensive as far as I have ever experienced going back to 2004 which was the first of my 15 trips was eating all western food.  Sure there is a Tony Roma's in Bangkok.  A hard rock cafe in Pattaya and things like that.  But lots of Thai rice and noodle and soup dishes and some occasional German food or a Full English Breakfast now and then along with a Sunday Carvery now and then as well as the specials that Robins Nest used to have such as the Lasagna, suited me just fine,  A nice sized 40  or even 50 sq meter condo rents for about 1/2 of a similar thing here in many parts of the USA.  My health insurance is now on Medicare so I am paying that regardless of me spending long term in Thailand so that doesn't count in my cost equation.  Costs for touristy things like visiting parks, gardens, zoos, etc.  are comparable or cheaper in Thailand than in the USA.  Certainly are cheaper when you look at what they now charge to go to big corporate places such as Disney world, Universal world, tec.  The Dallas Texas zoo was very reasonably priced as is the fantastic San Diego Zoo.  Nong Nooch Garden just outside of Pattya is reasonable.  I miss the old Dusit zoo in bangkok.  That was like an oasis.  

 

Yes foreign wine or other hard liquor can add up but I rarely drink that.  So if I were to pull up stakes and totally move to Thailand, it would cost me about 25% less of what very similar living and eating here in the USA,  and would go down from there if I was really penny pinching.  Basically I plan for $3,000 a month, budget for $4,000 a month, can afford $5,000 a month.  

It's all difficult to compare, since so much depends on where you live, and how you want to live.

 

We used to own several condo's in Noble Remix in Bangkok. 50m2 and we used to get ฿30,000/month for them, shoebox's really but nice and in a great location.

We now own condo's back in the US, 1000ft2, or 92m2 and we rent them for $1000/month, so the same, still rather nice in a great part of town.

 

Food is always tricky and it depends how 'local' you want to go.

 

I was never into buying meat at one of those outdoor stalls with the swirling fan trying to keep the flies away, I'd always pay more in Top's for meat that at least looked more hygienic. 

 

For sure our grocery bill is higher in the US than when we are in Thailand, but last time the gap is narrowing, but again, ain't prepared to go full native

 

Utilities not much in it, and at least the power stays on all time time here!

 

You said you are on Medicare, so you're at least paying Part B. If you get an Advantage plan they do cover you for overseas travel, which might be worth looking into, then you're not committing yourself to be reliant on the local Government hospitals, which outside BKK vary wildly to say the least

 

 

 

[KhunLA]

8 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I am wondering if anyone has tried substituting stevia for sugar. Zero calories, 200 times sweeter than sugar. Stable up to 200 C.

For the Cheesecake recipe, if people do the same, cut the sugar down to ~125gr, then that's only ~10gr per serving, 39 calories, about 2.5 tsp, and what some folks put in the morning coffee.  Not me of course, so if drink it black, then not gaining any sugar by eating Cheesecake 

 

Calories (<400) and saturated fat from the Cream Cheese & heavy Whipping Cream, is what some might be concerned about.

 

I tried stevia, in couple things, not a fan.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

For the Cheesecake recipe, if people do the same, cut the sugar down to ~125gr, then that's only ~10gr per serving, 39 calories, about 2.5 tsp, and what some folks put in the morning coffee.  Not me of course, so if drink it black, then not gaining any sugar by eating Cheesecake 

 

Calories (<400) and saturated fat from the Cream Cheese & heavy Whipping Cream, is what some might be concerned about.

 

I tried stevia, in couple things, not a fan.

I suppose it depends on what the stevia is combined with.

 

It's OK with white coffee, very ordinary with black.

 

Fat is not a concern of mine. Deprive the body of carbohydrates and sugar, it will start burning fat for energy instead.

[Hummin]

11 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

There is some really overpriced food in Thailand once you step outside the bounds of Thai food. Once you factor in quality it can really get outrageous. People may be noticing this more because there's more options to spend money now. If you go back 20 years Thai food may have been the only option you had so you didn't have the option to spend big money.

 

Basically it's cheap if you want to live poor. 😂 In your home country this may not even be an option so there's that.

Thai food have changed since I started to visit Thailand, and in 2008 started to notice they used new ingredients in traditional dishes. More sugar, table salt, premade sauces and the result we see now. 
 

Thei catching up with the west in obesity. Of course the consume more of fast food, sugar drinks, they did not have from before, and also more meat. 
 

I have become more skeptical where and what I eat in Thailand, and quit street food completely. 
 

Home we eat only home cooked food from scratch 

[Photoguy21]

12 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I heard Germany was even higher due to the unnecessary dismantling of their highly successful nuclear energy program. 

Could well be. Last I heard though was that the UK was the most expensive in the world. That could have changed now

[bwanajohn]

Makro just started carrying ARO brand aged cheddar like cheese...Quite good, under 200 baht for I think 250 grams..

Pretty good deal 

[tuk75]

Siamburys in Dark side has Arla:

Arla mild cheddar and colored cheddar

Buy whole blocks at the discounted price of 280 baht per kg (blocks approx 2.5kg each)

Edamer for 200 bat kg.

[KhunLA]

Cost & expensive or not is all relative.  

... do you own, or rent, mortgage

... own or lease, have financed transport

... home cook from scratch, or processed foods

... Thai or Western food

... dine in vs dine out; 1 -2 - 3 meals a day

... vices; company, alcohol, ganga, cigs

... health insurance

 

Also what cost are you comparing to; USA, UK, EU, AU or ASEAN countries.

 

We (2 adults & dog) own, house, BEVs w/solar, so minimal monthly bills.  Oops fund vs healthcare insurance.

 

Mandatory monthly bills before feeding ourselves (90% in home), are <฿3000  month

Food runs about ฿10k-฿15k a month.  Live & eat well and comfy for <฿20 a month.

[Hummin]

23 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Cost & expensive or not is all relative.  

... do you own, or rent, mortgage

... own or lease, have financed transport

... home cook from scratch, or processed foods

... Thai or Western food

... dine in vs dine out; 1 -2 - 3 meals a day

... vices; company, alcohol, ganga, cigs

... health insurance

 

Also what cost are you comparing to; USA, UK, EU, AU or ASEAN countries.

 

We (2 adults & dog) own, house, BEVs w/solar, so minimal monthly bills.  Oops fund vs healthcare insurance.

 

Mandatory monthly bills before feeding ourselves (90% in home), are <฿3000  month

Food runs about ฿10k-฿15k a month.  Live & eat well and comfy for <฿20 a month.

Easy

 

Basic living  on 20k where food and electric is the biggest expense every month for our personal use.

 

Playing with total realistic  budget

 

Electric 1500 to 4000

diesel  2400 +-

Monthly cost car roughly  3000 service/tires/insurance 

Food/drinks just me and wife 12000

Protein 1200

clothes 3 -4000

Supplements 500-1000

Dinner once a week outside home 4x 1200

4x hotel with breakfest 6000

 

Well ounder 35k a month

 

+ Insurance 145 euro a month

 

[sandyf]

On 5/22/2025 at 10:20 AM, JakeC said:

 

No.

Edam cheese in the U.K. £3 for 300 grams at Sainsburys. That's nowhere near 1 baht per gram. 

Apologies if my post was confusing for you.

It was 2 separate statements, one comparing variety and one comparing price in general, not Edam.

i would agree there are several sources in the uk with cheese  around £10/kilo but the better cheeses are double that, and the same goes for Thailand. The 1kg blocks in Makro are only fit for cooking.

[Ralf001]

20 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

And tastes even less.

left over pizza spun in the tucka <deleted>a for 30secs goes good for brekky.

[kimothai]

You can shop at local markets or eat at the outdoor Thai restaurants and live dirt cheap. Personally I'd rather not eat outside with the heat and the flies so I simply pay the extra for air conditioning. It's all about choices. 

[sandyf]

On 5/22/2025 at 10:43 AM, BritManToo said:

So your UK purchased Edam is 44bht for 100gm.

Aro vintage cheddar 198bht for 500gm = 40bht/100gm

 

Not that much in it, I prefer the strong taste of vintage to the bland taste of Dutch.

I usually get my cheese from Siamburi but they vary their stock a bit. Most are in the range 400 - 600 baht a kilo. I usually go for the Australian Edam, a bit saltier than the Dutch, and the Extra Mature Cheddar to eat with biscuits. I also get the standard cheddar for cooking.

I have tried some of the Aro cheese but wasn't impressed, maybe got the wrong one. Found it didn't melt properly when grilled,  a bit like processed.

JakeC got mixed up with what I said, I don't buy cheese in the UK, and certainly not Edam, to eat or cook with. I only buy cheese to bring back that is not readily available here.

Morrisons do some nice flavoured cheese in a wax coating that gives them a long self life. Also at a reasonable price, seen them at around £5 each elsewhere. One of my favourites.

https://groceries.morrisons.com/products/monty-s-caramelised-onion-cheddar-truckle-170g/112614947